I’m sitting in Hartsfield airport in Atlanta. I’m halfway through my trip home. It’s my first official trip home as an expat. At first this was just going to be an extended business trip, I needed to go through Newark Read more…
For those of you who ever wondered, the maximum amount of times that one can safely shop at IKEA without experiencing IKEA Overload, is twice a month. Yesterday Ann and I took our fourth trip in as many weeks to Read more…
Ann and I have met five neighbors so far. All of them had to be over 65. A few of them were in the 70s I think. I think Ann and I brought the average age of that apartment block Read more…
Our new TV has CNN International. Stayed up until 6:00am watching election coverage, hoping to see a trend in Ohio that would allow me to go to sleep with the knowledge that we would have a new president. Instead went Read more…
This weekend we moved into our new apartment. Here are some of the highlights: Four appliances came Friday morning. I succeeded in getting them out of the packaging, but after that I reached the limits of my usefulness. Ann’s dad Read more…
So we went to IKEA last night and dropped 1,100 Euros on furniture for our new pad. Couches. Dining room table. End table. Rug. Bed. Mattress. Bathroom rack. Entertainment center. Our place is goign to be an IKEA model home. Read more…
The election is coming. It is less than a week away. It dominates every newspaper headline, it is on every newscast of every Dutch, German, and Belgian TV channel that we get. There are more articles about who’s leading in Read more…
Ever since moving here Ann and I have noticed a certain distinct and pervasive sense of Dutch ‘style’. Simply put: the Dutch wear things that in almost all other cultures would surpass acceptable fashion limits. When put into the larger Read more…
Our friend Mark Lorenc will love this. Ann called up the IND, the bureau responsible for processing our application for a residence permit, to check up on the status. The woman said it was still processing, but that she didn’t Read more…
Just to give you a typical example: I called up the local school a few weeks ago to see what it would cost to take Dutch lessons. Immediately the receptionist said: “Do you have an inbeurgeringskontract?” To which I replied: Read more…